352 
B6 


IC-NRLF 


•s 


LOCATION  OF  LA  SALLE'S 
COLONY  ON  THE  GULF 
OF  MEXICO 


BY 

HERBERT  E.  BOLTON 


REPRINTED  FROM 

'Southwestern  Historical  Quarterly,  XXVII,  171-189 
AUSTIN,  TEXAS 


THE  LOCATION  OF  LA  SALLE'S  COLONY  ON  THE  GULF 

OF  MEXICO* 

HERBERT  E.  BOLTON 

One  of  the  unsettled  points  in  the  history  of  La  Salle's  career 
in  America  has  been  the  exact  location  of  the  colony  which  he 
established  temporarily  on  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  in 
1685.  The  view  held  my  Parkman  and  most  other  writers  has 
been  that  the  site  was  on  the  Lavaca  river,  but  from  this  opinion 
some  have  dissented,  while  others  have  been  in  doubt  because 
of  the  inadequacy  of  the  available  data.1  The  question  is  de- 
batable no  longer,  for  it  is  settled  once  for  all  by  newly  discov- 
ered records  in  the  archives  of  Spain,  which  have  been  corrob- 
orated by  archeological  and  topographical  investigation. 

In  order  to  put  this  new  evidence  in  its  proper  setting,  it 
seems  desirable  to  review  briefly  the  main  features  of  the  well- 
known  story  of  La  Salle's  enterprise.  In  1682  La  Salle  descended 
the  Mississippi  to  its  mouth  and  conceived  the  idea  of  founding 
there  a  colony  in  the  name  of  the  king  of  France.  In  writing 
of  his  purposes,  historians  generally  have  laid  the  chief  emphasis 
upon  La  Salle's  desire  to  control  and  develop  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  through  that  stream  to  establish  connection  with 
Canada.  But  La  Salle  had  other  purposes  which  were  equally  or 
even  more  prominent  in  his  plans.  French  explorers  in  the  in- 
terior of  North  America  had  long  dreamed  of  finding  a  way  to 
the  much  talked  of  mines  of  northern  Mexico.  France  and  Spain 

*This  article  is  reprinted  with  the  courteous  permission  of  the  editor 
of  the  Mississippi  Valley  Historical  Review,  in  which  it  appeared.  Sep- 
tember, 1915  (Volume  II,  165-182). 

Parkman  writes:  "It  was  on  the  river  which  he  named  La  Vache,  now 
the  Lavaca,  which  enters  the  head  of  Matagorda  Bay"  (La>  Salle  and  the 
Discovery  of  the  Great  West  [Boston,  1910],  391-392).  The  same  view  is 
held  by  H.  H.  Bancroft  (North  Mexican  States  and  Texas  [San  Francisco, 
1886],  I,  402);  G.  P.  Garrison  (Texas  [Boston,  1903],  22);  and  R.  C. 
Clark  (The  Beginnings  of  Texas  [Austin,  1907],  18).  On  their  maps 
Garrison  and  Clark  both  place  the  French  fort  east  of  the  stream.  Miss 
Eleanor  Buckley,  in  a  scholarly  discussion,  concludes  that  the  fort  was  on 
Lavaca,  but  shows,  correctly,  that  it  was  not  on  the  left  bank.  (Texas 
State  Historical  Association  Quarterly,  XV,  57-60.)  W.  Kingsford  (The 
History  of  Canada  [London,  1888],  II,  137-138)  concludes  that  the  settle- 
ment  was  probably  on  Galveston  Bay  and  certainly  not  on  Matagorda. 
For  other  views  see  post,  179. 


589845 


172  '  'Southwestern  Historical  Quarterly 

were  continually  at  war  or  on  the  verge  of  war,  and  at  the  very 
time  when  La  Salle  descended  the  Mississippi  French  buccaneers 
were  scouring  the  waters  of  the  gulf  and  making  raids  upon  the 
Spanish  settlements  of  Florida.  In  the  course  of  the  next  year 
French  corsairs  three  times  sacked  the  Spanish  settlement  of 
Apalache.  Thus  France  and  Spain  were  competing  for  the  con- 
trol of  the  northern  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  of  this 
competition  La  Salle's  project  was  a  part.  When  he  returned  to 
France,  therefore,  La  Salle  proposed  to  establish  a  colony  on  the 
gulf,  not  only  as  a  means  of  controlling  the  Mississippi  valley 
and  the  northern  gulf  shore,  but  also  as  a  base  of  attack,  in  case 
of  war,  upon  the  Spanish  treasure  fleets  and  upon  the  northern 
provinces  of  Mexico.  These  purposes  La  Salle  plainly  set  forth 
in  his  proposals  to  the  king,  and  on  these  terms  his  plans  were 
approved  by  Louis  XIV.2 

The  colony  of  some  four  hundred  people  left  France  in  the 
summer  of  1684,  and  in  the  autumn  reached  the  West  Indies,  the 
ketch  of  St.  Francois  having  been  captured  by  the  Spaniards  on 
the  way.  While  in  the  West  Indies  La  Salle  was  gravely  ill,  but 
he  recovered  his  health  and  in  November  continued  his  voyage. 
For  reasons  which  have  never  been  fully  explained,  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi  was  missed  and  a  landing  made  near  Pass 
Cavallo,  on  Matagorda  bay.3  Some  students  have  maintained  that 
the  passing  of  the  Mississippi  was  not  accidental,  but  designed  by 
La  Salle,  in  order  better  to  attack  the  Spanish  provinces  of  Mexico. 
This  view,  however,  seems  unwarranted.4 

After  reaching  Matagorda  bay  the  expedition  went  rapidly  to 
pieces.  A  landing  had  scarcely  been  made  when  some  of  the 
colonists  died  from  sickness  and  others  were  killed  by  the  In- 
dians. In  the  attempt  to  enter  the  bay,  the  Aimable  was  wrecked. 
Beaujeu,  the  naval  commander,  had  quarreled  with  La  Salle  from 

2See  documents  in  P.  Margry,  Decouvertes  et  etablissements  des  frangais 
dans  I'ouest  et  dans  le  sud  de  I'Amerique  Septentrionale,  1614-1698  (Paris, 
1878),  II,  288-301,  359-369;  III,  17-28.  Also  G.  Gravier,  Cavelier  de  la 
Salle  de  Rouen  (Paris,  1871),  96-97. 

'"Relation  de  Henri  Joutel,"  in  Margry,  Decouvertes,  III,  91-146. 

4For  the  view  that  the  passing  of  the  Mississippi  was  by  mistake  see 
Parkman,  La  Salle  and  the  Discovery  of  the  Great  West,  376;  Gravier, 
Cavelier  de  la  Salle  de  Rouen,  100;  Justin  Winsor,  Cartier  to  Frontenac 
(Boston,  1894),  313;  Bancroft,  North  Mexican  States  and  Texas,  I,  399; 
Jared  Sparks,  Robert  Cavelier  de  la  Salle  (Boston,  1844),  130;  E.  T. 


Location  of  La  Salle's  Colony  On  Gulf  of  Mexico       173 

the  beginning,  and  from  Pass  Cavallo  he  sailed  back  to  France 
with  the  Joly,  carrying  away  some  of  the  soldiers  and  a  large 
quantity  of  much  needed  supplies.  Tonty,  La  Salle's  lieutenant, 
by  agreement  descended  the  Mississippi  to  meet  him  at  the  mouth, 
but  of  course  did  not  find  him,  and  therefore  gave  him  no  aid. 

To  make  the  best  of  a  bad  situation,  La  Salle  moved  his  colony 
to  a  better  site  near  the  head  of  Lavaca  bay  and  began  a  series 
of  expeditions  to  the  eastward  in  the  hope  of  finding  the  Missis- 
sippi river,  which  he  thought  to  be  near.  While  engaged  in  ex- 
ploring the  eastern  portion  of  Matagorda  bay,  the  Belle,  the  last 
of  La  Salle's  four  vessels,  was  wrecked  and  left  stranded  on  the 
inner  shoals  of  Matagorda  peninsula.5  On  his  third  expedition 
northeastward  La  Salle,  with  a  few  companions,  made  his  way 
to  the  Cenis  Indians  on  the  Neches,  and  to  the  Nasoni  north  of 
Nacogdoches.  But  here  he  was  forced  by  desertion  and  sickness 
to  retrace  his  steps,  and  he  returned  to  the  settlement  at  Mata- 
gorda bay.6  The  colony  by  this  time  had  dwindled  down  to  a 
mere  handful,  and  succor  was  imperative  or  extermination  cer- 
tain. Again  the  intrepid  explorer  set  forth  with  a  few  compan- 
ions, in  an  attempt  to  reach  Canada.  Crossing  the  Colorado  near 
Columbus,  he  made  his  way  to  the  Brazos,  which  he  passed  just 
above  the  mouth  of  the  Navasota.  Here  a  quarrel  arose  among 
his  followers,  in  the  course  of  which  Moranget,  La  Salle's  nephew, 
was  slain  by  his  companions  while  hunting  for  supplies  which 
La  Salle  had  cached  in  the  vicinity  during  the  previous  expe- 
dition.7 

To  save  their  own  necks,  when  La  Salle  reached  the  scene  of 
the  murder  the  conspirators  slew  him  as  they  had  slain  Moran- 
get. Historians  have  supposed  that  this  act  was  committed  near 
the  Trinity  or  the  Neches,  but  evidence  now  available  makes  it 
quite  clear  that  the  spot  was  between  the  Brazos  and  Navasota 

Miller,  "The  connection  of  Penalosa  with  the  La  Salle  Expedition,"  in 
Texas  State  Historical  Association  Quarterly,  V,  97-112.  For  a  contrary 
view  see  J.  G.  Shea,  The  Expedition  of  Don  Diego  Dionisi  de  Penalosa 
(New  York,  1882),  22;  Charlevoix,  History  and  General  Description  of 
'New  France  (J.  G.  Shea,  tr.  —  New  York,  1866-1872),  IV,  68-69. 

"'Relation  de  Hen'ri  Joutel,"  in  Margry,  Decouvertes,  III,  163-226,  passim. 

M.  G.  Shea,  Discovery  and  Exploration  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  (Albany. 
1903),  201-205. 

'"Relation  de  Henri  Joutel,"  in  Margry,  Decouvertes,  III,  260-325. 


174  Southwestern  Historical  Quarterly. 

rivers,  and  near  the  present  city  of  Navasota.8  To  L'Archeveque, 
at  least,  poetic  justice  was  meted  out  in  full  measure,  as  the 
scholar  Bandelier  has  shown.  Being  picked  up  by  the  Spaniards 
and  taken  to  Monclova,  L'Archeveque  became  a  citizen  of  New 
Mexico,  and,  in  1720,  a  third  of  the  century  after  the  assassina- 
tion of  La  Salle,  he  was  killed  by  the  Indian  allies  of  the  French, 
while  taking  part  in  a  Spanish  expedition  to  Kansas.9 

From  the  Navasota  river  the  survivors  of  La  Salle's  party 
continued  eastward  to  the  Cenis  and  Nasoni.  Here  some  de- 
serted, but  others,  including  Joutel  and  La  Salle's  brother,  Abbe 
Jean  Cavelier,  made  their  way  across  the  Eed  river  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Arkansas,10  to  Tonty's  post  on  the  Illinois,  and  to  Canada. 
From  Tonty  they  concealed  the  news  of  the  tragedy  which  had 
occurred  in  the  wilds  of  Texas,  but  he  learned  the  truth  through 
Indians,  and  in  the  fall  of  1689  made  a  second  voyage  down  the 
Mississippi  in  an  effort  to  rescue  the  colonists.  Crossing  Louisiana 
to  the  Natchitoches,  he  ascended  the  Eed  river  to  the  Caddo,  and 
then  made  his  way  southwest  for  eighty  leagues  to  the  Nouaydiche, 
a  village  of  Indians  living  near  the  Neches.  But  here,  for  lack 
of  aid  and  guides,  and,  it  is  said,  hearing  of  the  approach  of 
De  Leon,  he  was  forced  to  give  up  the  search.  Accordingly,  he 
purchased  horses  from  the  Indians  and  returned  to  Canada. 

Meanwhile  the  little  colony  on  the  gulf  dwindled  down  to  a 
mere  handful.  Many  of  the  people  died  of  smallpox.  Finally, 
early  in  the  year  1689,  four  years  after  the  colony  had  landed, 
most  of  the  survivors  were  slain  by  their  savage  neighbors,  the 

8The  correctness  of  this  conclusion  is  clear  to  any  one  who  reads  Joutel's 
journal  in  the  light  of  contemporary  Spanish  sources  and  of  established 
ethnological  data  regarding  the  Hasinai  Indians.  ( See  Bolton,  "The  Native 
Tribes  About  the  East  Texas  Missions,"  in  the  Texas  State  Historical 
Association  Quarterly,  XI,  249-276.)  New  light  on  the  operations  of  La 
Salle  on  Matagorda  Bay  and  during  his  last  journeys  is  shed  by  the 
declaration  made  before  the  viceroy  in  Mexico  City  by  Pedro  Muni  (Pierre 
Meusnier),  one  of  the  Frenchmen  picked  up  in  Texas  by  De  Le6n  in  1690. 
He  had  been  with  La  Salle  on  his  last  expedition'  and  had  remained  in 
Eastern  Texas.  Incidentally  he  confirms  by  a  positive  statement  the 
present  writer's  conclusions,  reached  some  years  ago,  that  La  Salle's  death 
occurred  on  the  Brazos  (EspJritu  Santo)  river.  Testimonio  de  Autos  en 
orderi  a  las  diligencias  y  resulta  de  ellas  para  la  entrada  por  tierra  a  los 
Parages  de  la  Bahia  del  Espfritu  Santo.  Manuscript  in  archive  general 
de  Indias,  Sevilla,  estante  61,  cajon  6,  legajo  21. 

"See  A.  F.  A.  Bandelier,  The  Gilded  Man  (New  York,  1873),  299-300. 

""Relation  de  Henri  Joutel,"  in  Margry,  Decouvertes,  III.  325-436. 


Location  of  La  Salle's  Colony  On  Gulf  of  Mexico       175 

Karankawa  Indians.  In  the  course  of  the  next  few  years  five 
children  and  four  men  were  picked  up  in  various  parts  of  Texas 
by  Spaniards,  taken  to  Mexico,  imprisoned,  or  otherwise  disposer. 
of.11  Just  a  quarter  of  a  century  later  two  of  the  boys,  Jean 
and  Eobert  Talon,  reappeared  in  Texas  as  guides  of  the  famous 
St.  Denis,  when  in  1714  he  made  his  historic  journey  from  Natch- 
itoches  to  the  Eio  Grande.12 

Such  in  outline  is  the  story  of  La  Salle's  unfortunate  colony. 
Much  of  what  we  know  of  it  is  learned  through  the  records  of 
Spanish  expeditions  sent  out  in  search  of  it.  News  of  La  Salle's 
voyage  to  the  Mississippi  was  acquired  through  the  capture  of 
a  French  corsair  off  the  coast  of  Yucatan  in  September,  1684. 
Soon  Spanish  parties  were  sent  forth  by  land  and  sea  to  find 
and  eject  the  intruders.  In  1687  the  wrecks  of  the  Aimable  and 
the  Belle  were  seen  by  members  of  two  of  these  expeditions,  who 
took  from  them  four  pieces  of  artillery  "and  three  painted  fleurs 
de  lis."  They  concluded  that  the  French  colony  had  been  com- 
pletely destroyed;13  but,  to  make  certain,  overland  expeditions 
were  sent  out  from  Monterey  and  Monclova,  then  the  principal 
outposts  on  the  northeastern  frontier  of  New  Spain.  The  leader 
of  these  expeditions  was  Alonso  de  Leon,  the  ablest  frontiersman 
of  his  district.  In  1686  and  again  in  1687  he  made  his  way  to 
the  Eio  Grande  and  explored  it  to  its  mouth,  looking  for  the 
French.  Hearing  in  1688  of  a  strange  white  man  dwelling  among 
the  Indians  north  of  the  Eio  Grande,  he  crossed  it  near  Eagle 
Pass  and  found  a  lone  Frenchman  ruling  single-handed  a  large 
confederacy  of  savages.  The  Frenchman  was  captured  by  strate- 

"Letter  of  Alonso  de  Le6n  to  the  viceroy  of  Mexico,  May  18,  1680,  in 
Buckingham  Smith,  Colecdon  de  Varios  Documentos  Para  la  Historic*  de 
la  Florida  (London,  1857),  25-27;  "Interrogations  fait  a  Pierre  et  Jean 
Talon,"  in  Margry,  Decouvertes,  III,  610-621;  Alonso  de  Leon,  Historia  de 
Nuevo  Leon,  edited  by  Genaro  Garcia  (Mexico,  1909),  ch.  34-45. 

^Manuscript  correspondence  of  St.  Denis  with  the  mission'  authorities 
of  San  Juan  Bautistat  1714,  and  of  Santa  Cruz  de  Quergtaro. 

13Cardenas,  Ensayo  cronologico  para  la  historia  general  de  la  Florida 
(Madrid,  1723),  268,  283;  junta  de  guerra  de  Yndias,  a  22  de  marzo  de 
1691.  Acordada  el  mismo  dia.  Representa  a  vuestra  magestad  lo  que  se 
le  ofrece  en  vista  del  papel  que  escribio  Don  An'dres  de  Fez,  sobre  fortifkar 
la  Bahia  de  Panzacola.  Don  Antonio  Ortiz  de  Otalara.  c.  March  22,  1691. 
Manuscript  in  archive  general  de  Indias,  estante  61,  cajon  6,  legajo  21. 


176  Southwestern  Historical  Quarterly 

gem  and  taken  to  Mexico;  in  1689  he  returned  as  guide  to  De 
Leon,  now  on  his  fourth  expedition  in  search  of  La  Salle's  colony.14 

Making  his  way  to  the  northern  shores  of  Lavaca  bay,  De  Leon 
found  the  ruins  of  the  French  settlement,,  rescued  from  the  In- 
dians a  few  survivors,  held  a  conference  with  an  Indian  chief 
from  the  Neches  river,  and  returned  to  Mexico.  Next  year  he 
was  sent  on  a  fifth  expedition,  instructed  to  destroy  the  French 
fort  and  to  aid  Father  Massanet  in  founding  missions  on  the 
Neches,  where  it  was  feared  the  French  might  reappear,  and  where 
the  friars  had  long  dreamed  of  establishing  the  faith.  The  French 
fort  was  burned,  and  the  bay  was  again  visited.15 

In  the  summer  of  1690  De  Leon  returned  to  Monclova  and 
reported  what  he  had  done.  Among  other  things  he  stated  that 
in  the  bay,  a  short  distance  from  the  mouth  of  the  stream  on 
which  the  French  colony  had  been  established,  he  had  seen  two 
buoys  which  were  not  there  the  year  before  and  could  hardly  have 
been  placed  there  by  the  Indians.16  So  serious  was  the  matter 
regarded  that  a  council  of  war  was  held  in  Mexico  to  consider  it, 
for  it  was  feared  that  the  buoys  might  mark  the  entrance  to  some 
channel  in  which  other  French  vessels  were  lurking,  or  to  which 
they  might  return.  It  was  resolved,  therefore,  that  they  should 
be  destroyed;  the  method  of  their  destruction  was  left  to  be  de- 
termined by  the  viceroy.17 

The  viceroy  not  only  desired  to  learn  who  had  left  the  buoys, 
and  to  protect  the  bay,  but  was  even  more  concerned  to  estab- 
lish a  water  route  to  the  missions  which  had  been  established 

"Alonso  de  Le6n,  Historia  de  Nuevo  Leon,  ch.  34-45 ;  E.  Portillo,  Apuntes 
para  la  Mstoria  antigua  de  Coahuila  y  Texas  (Saltillo,  1886),  224-238; 
Clark,  Beginnings  of  Texas,  9-27. 

15Letter  of  Damian  Massanet  to  Don  Carlos  de  Sigiienza,  in  the  Texas 
State  Historical  Association  Quarterly,  II,  281-312;  Alonso  de  Le6n,  "Itiner- 
ary of  the  expedition  made  by  General  Alonso  de  Le6n,  1689,"  in  ibid., 
VIII,  203-224;  De  Le6n,  Diario  of  1690,  manuscript. 

16De  Le6n,  Diario  of  1690,  entry  for  April  26,  manuscript;  declaration 
of  Gregorio  de  Salinas,  August  19,  1690,  'manuscript  in  Testimonio  de 
autos  en  orden  a  las  diligencias. 

"The  junta  general  was  held  on  August  29,  1690.  In  it  were  consid- 
ered De  Le6n''s  reports  and  certain  declarations  given  in  Mexico  a  few 
days  before.  It  was  stated  that  since  it  appears  "by  the  diary  that  two 
buoys  or  anchors  have  been  seen  in  the  mouth  of  the  entrance  of  the  Rio  de 
San  Marcos,  which  is  in  the  bay  of  Esplritu  Santo,  and  which  appear  to 
be  a  mark  for  its  entrance;  and  considering  in  view  of  all  the  foregoing 
proceedings  that  every  mark,  demonstration,  or  sign  which  might  give  an 


Location  of  La  Salle's  Colony  On  Gulf  of  Mexico       .177 

on  the  Neches.18  In  September,  therefore,  he  sent  out  an  expedi- 
tion to  investigate  these  points.  A  ship  was  equipped  for  three 
months,  provided  with  a  launch  and  a  canoe,  manned  with  sixty 
soldiers  and  sailors,  and  put  in  charge  of  Captain  Francisco  de 
Llanos,  an  officer  in  the  West  Indian  fleet.  With  him  went  Gre- 
gorio  de  Salinas,  who  had  been  with  De  Leon  on  his  last  expe- 
dition, and  who  was  now  put  in  charge  of  the  land  operations.19 
As  pilot  the  viceroy  appointed  Juan  de  Triana,  an  expert  in  the 
navigation  of  the  gulf.  As  master  of  the  fortification  and  map- 
maker  went  Manuel  Joseph  de  Cardenas  y  Magana,  who  had  shown 
skill  in  the  building  of  the  great  prison  fortress  of  San  Juan  de 
Ulua,  still  standing  near  Vera  Cruz.  Before  coming  to  Mexico 
he  had  served  two  years  in  the  presidio  of  Cadiz,  and  one  in  the 
West  Indian  fleet.20 

indication  of  the  slightest  danger  ought  to  be  destroyed  and  removed;  this 
junta  sees  no  objection'  to  having  this  done;  but  it  is  resolved  that  the 
method  and  time  of  the  measures  necessary  for  it  be  reserved  to  the  provi- 
dence of  his  excellency,  to  the  end  that  he  may  be  pleased  to  give  the  orders 
which  to  him  may  appear  most  suited  to  his  zeal."  Testimonio  de  Autos  en 
orden  a  las  diligencias. 

18In  his  decreto  of  November  12,  1690,  the  viceroy,  after  reviewing  the 
action  of  the  junta  regarding  the.  removal  of  the  buoys,  adds  that  'Jiore 
potent  motives  were  the  report  that  there  were  four  Frenchmen  among 
the  Texans  who  might  have  come  from  New  France,  or  from  another  settle- 
ment nearer;  the  difficulty  and  expense  of  traveling  by  land  six  hundred 
or  seven  hundred  leagues  through  a  hostile  country;  the  knowledge  of  a 
large  river  entering  the  bay  of  Espfritu  Santo  (or  San  Bernardo)  which 
might  pass  close  to  the  newly  established  mission;  and  it  being  cheaper 
and  easier  to  send  expeditions  from  Vera  Cruz.  (Testimonio  de  las  dili- 
gencias egecutadas  para  quitar  las  Boyas  6  Valisas  en  el  Lago  de  San 
Bernardo,  que  llaman  Bahia  del  Espfritu  Santo.  Manuscript  in'  archivo 
general  <le  Indias,  estante  61,  cajon  6?  legajo  21.)  On  December  28,  1690, 
the  viceroy  wrote  that  an  expedition  by  sea  had  seemed  necessary  as  a 
means  of  exploring  the  interior  rivers  with  a  view  to  founding  a  water- 
way to  the  n'ewly  established  missions,  which  would  be  cheaper  than  the 
land  route.  Manuscript  in  archivo  general  de  Indias,  estante  61,  cajon  6, 
legajo  21. 

i9Decreto  of  the  viceroy,  November  12,  1690.  Testimonio  de  las  dili- 
gencias egecutadas  para  quitar  las  Boyas. 

20 At  this  time  Cardenas  was  a  soldier  an'd  engineer  at  San  Juan  de 
Ulua,  where  he  had  worked  two  years;  he  had  made  a  special  study  of 
mathematics  and  fortification;  his  ability  as  military  engineer  had  been 
reported  to  the  viceroy  by  Don  Jaime  Franck.  After  his  return  from  the 
expedition  the  viceroy  wrote  Cardenas  a  special  note  of  thanks  for  his 
services  with  Llanos.  In'  March,  1691,  he  was  still  serving  at  San  Juan  de 
Ulua.  At  that  time  he  was  applying  to  the  king  for  promotion  to  the 
rank  of  captain  of  infantry,  with  employment  as  an  engineer  in  Havana. 
The  data  given  above  have  been  gathered  from  an  unlabeled  expediente  in 
the  archivo  general  de  Indias,  Sevilla,  estante  61,  cajon  60,  legajo  21. 


178  Southwestern  Historical  Quarterly 

The  instructions  provided  that  the  expedition  should  first  pro- 
ceed to  examine  the  buoys.  If  it  was  found  that  they  marked 
the  entrance  to  some  river  or  channel,  that  waterway  must  be 
explored.  But  if  the  channel  should  lead  neither  toward  the 
French  fort  nor  toward  the  Neches  missions,  its  detailed  exam- 
ination should  be  deferred  to  a  later  expedition,  "since  the  present 
one  is  directed  solely  to  learning  which  of  the  rivers  coming  from 
the  province  of  Texas  (the  Neches  country),  or  passing  near  it 
and  emptying  into  this  lake,  is  navigable  and  crosses  the  region 
between  that  province  and  the  gulf."  If  such  a  river  should  be 
found,  it  must  be  examined  minutely,  to  see  if  it  afforded  a  port 
for  large  vessels,  and  whether  it  could  be  fortified.  To  report  on 
these  last  matters  was  the  especial  duty  of  Cardenas,  who  was 
instructed  to  make  a  careful  map  of  the  entire  San  Bernardo 
(Matagorda)  bay,  its  rivers  and  inlets,  and  report  whether  Pass 
Cavallo  could  be  closed.  In  case  the  site  of  La  Salle's  colony 
were  to  be  regarded  suitable  for  fortification,  Salinas  was  to  leave 
there  the  French  cannon  which  De  Leon  had  buried  at  the  fort; 
if  not,  he  should  carry  them  to  Vera  Cruz.21 

The  Llanos  expedition  seems  hitherto  to  have  been  unknown 
to  historians,  and  yet  its  records  are  of  first  importance  in  de- 
termining the  plans  of  the  viceroy  regarding  Texas,  and,  inci- 
dentally, in  fixing  the  location  of  La  Salle's  colony.  The  records 
comprise  correspondence,  a  diary,  and  a  carefully  made  map  of 
Matagorda  bay  and  its  tributaries.  The  map  is  so  accurate  that 
we  are  able  to  identify  practically  every  point  which  Llanos, 
Salinas,  and  Cardenas  visited;  and  there  can  be  no  question  as 
to  its  reliability.  It  is  the  work  of  a  skilled  and  careful  en- 
gineer.22 

"Instructions  dated  September  14,  1690,  in  Testimonio  de  las  diligenciag 
egecutadas  para  quitar  las  Boyas. 

-The  records  of  this  expedition  are  contained  in  the  collection  of  docu- 
ments entitled  "Testimonio  de  las  diligen'cias  egecutadas  para  quitar  las 
Boyas  6  Valisas,"  previously  cited.  They  consist  of  the  junta  general  of 
August  29;  a  decreto  of  the  viceroy,  dated  at  Mexico,  November  12,  1690. 
reviewing  the  action  of  the  junta  and  subsequent  proceedings;  and  the 
diary  of  the  expedition.  The  diary  is  entitled  "Diario  y  derrotero  del 
viage  que  se  ha  hecho  y  egecutada  a  la  Bahia  de  San  Bernardo,  que 
comunmente  llaman  del  Espiritu  Santo,  el  Capitan  Don  Francisco  de 
Llanos,  por  mandado  y  de  orden  del  Excelentisimo  Seilor  Conde  de  Galve, 
Virrey,  Gobernador  y  Capitan  General  de  este  Reino  de  Nueva  Espafla,  y 
Presidente  de  la  Real  Audiencia  de  ella,  este  presente  ano  de  mil  seiscientos 
y  noventa." 


Location  of  La  Salle's  Colony  On  Gulf  of  Mexico       179 

On  October  24,  Llanos  and  his  party  reached  Pass  Cavallo.23 
To  this  point  the  diary  recorded  the  observations  made  by  the 
pilot,  Triana;  thenceforth  it  recorded  the  joint  operations  of 
Llanos,  Cardenas,  and  Salinas,  in  which  a  leading  part  was  played 
by  Cardenas.  His  map  shows  by  dots  the  routes  followed  in  the 
bay,  and  by  crosses,  numbers,  and  letters,  the  principal  points  of 
interest.  The  explorations  in  the  coves  and  rivers  were  made  with 
the  launch  and  canoes. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  the  party  crossed  the  bar.  On  the 
twenty-eighth  they  reached  the  spot  where  the  Aimable  had  gone 
down  (F).  Turning  northwest,  on  the  thirtieth  they  reached 
Sand  Point,  which  was  accurately  mapped  and  described.24  On 
November  1  they  entered  Lavaca  bay  in  the  launch,  and  named 
it  Todos  Santos  (All  Saints)  in  honor  of  the  day.  Proceeding 
to  the  northwestern  corner  of  Lavaca  bay,  they  reached  the  place 

Another  copy  of  the  diary,  somewhat  abbreviated,  but  also  containing 
some  additions,  is  included  in  the  expedience  cited  in  note  20  as  containing 
Cardenas'  application  for  promotion.  This  copy  is  entitled:  "Diario  de 
la  Derrota  que  han  hecho  para  la  Bahia  de  San  Bern'ardo  por  orden  del 
Excelentisimo  Seiior  Conde  de  Galve,  virrey  y  capitan  general  de  la  Nueva 
Espana,  el  capitan  de  mar  y  guerra  Don  Francisco  de  Llanos,  el  Capitan 
Don  Gregorio  Salinas,  y  Don  Manuel  de  Cardenas,  en  la  fragata  nombrada 
Nuestra  Seuora  de  la  En'carnacion,  sacado  por  dicho  Don  Manuel,  ano  de 
1690." 

The  longer  diary  is  signed  by  Don  Manuel  Joseph  de  Cardenas  y  Mag- 
nan  a,  Don  Franci&co  de  Llan'os,  Francisco  Millan  de  Tapia,  and  Don 
Gregorio  de  Salinas  Barona.  It  is  written  in  the  first  person',  as  if  by 
Llanos.  The  map  is  entitled  "Planta  cosmografica  del  Lago  de  San  Ber- 
nardo Con  los  senos  y  Rios  que  a  el  se  comunican  descubiertos  por  horden 
del  Exmo  Senor  Conde  de  Galve  Vi  Gor  y  Capn  Gl  desta  Na  Espana 
obserbada  y  delineada  por  Dn  Manuel  Joseph  de  Cardenas  aficdo  A  las 
Matas  Ao  de  1691." 

The  vessel  in  which  the  expedition  was  made  was  the  Nuestra  Seiiora 
de  la  Encarnacion.  The  expedition  left  Vera  Cruz  on  October  12.  Nothing 
noteworthy  occurred  until  the  seventeenth,  when  they  passed  the  mouth 
of  the  Rfo  Bravo. 

"The  following  summary  of  the  exploration  is  taken  from  the  diaries 
for  the  dates  indicated  here.  Since  the  photograph  of  the  Cfirdenas  map 
is  not  clear,  there  has  been  reproduced  a  small  map  of  the  same  region 
from  the  official  map  of  De  Leetfs  expedition  of  1690  (described,  post). 

2*The  following  description  of  Sand  Point  is  given  in  the  diary:  "It 
has  a  reef  of  sand  which  extends  from  the  windward  point  to  the  south- 
east {southwest}  and  crosses  almost  the  entire  entrance,  leaving  a  channel 
on  the  western  side,*  for  which  reason  this  entry  has  not  been  found  in 
five  expeditions  which  up  to  now  have  been  sent  to  explore  this  lake.*' 
Diario  de  la  Derrota  que  han  hecho  para  la  Bahia  de  San  Bernardo,  entry 
for  November  1.  The  words  between  stars  are  not  in  the  other  version. 


180 


Soutliivestern  Historical  Quarterly 


where  the  buoys  had  been  reported  (2). 
logs  of  driftwood. 


They  proved  to  be  only 


,./      Por  los  puntos  negros  desde  A  liasta  L 
^/:  anduvo  la  Fragata 

For  los  Colorados  la  Chalupa 

7r  Por  los  Verdes  la  Canoa 

(<F~-^° 


Descripcion    exacta    del    Lago    de    S.    Bernardo    y    del    Todos    Santos    que 

nuevamente  se  hall6   este   ano   de   1690 

Map  made  in  1690,  containing  the  essential  data  on  the  Cardenas  Map 
but   with    different   Lettering.      (Drawn    from    a    photograph) 

Continuing  northward,  Llanos  and  his  party  entered  the  mouth 
of  the  river  flowing  into  the  bay  at  its  northwestern  angle,  ob- 
viously the  Garcitas.  This  stream  was  given  the  name  of  Rio 
de  los  Franceses,  or  river  of  the  French.  The  words  of  the  diary 
are  interesting  here.  It  says:  "We  continued  up  the  river 
until  we  arrived  at  a  little  village  of  Indians  whom  we  did  not 
understand  and  who  did  not  understand  us.  From  here  we  con- 


Location  of  La  Salle's  Colony  On  Gulf  of  Mexico       181 

tinned  up  the  river  till  we  saw  some  houses,25  on  the  highest 
elevation.  Proceeding  toward  them.,  we  landed  on  the  banks  and 
discovered  that  they  were  the  settlement  and  fort  of  M.  de  la 
Salle  [Munsuir  de  Salas],  from  many  signs  which  we  found  there, 
such  as  wheels  of  cannon  carriages,  musket  breeches,  and  many 
burned  planks  and  beams  of  the  fort."26  De  Leon  had  burned 
the  fortification  a  few  months  before.  Another  report  tells  us 
that  the  French  settlement  was  two  leagues  or  about  five  miles 
up  the  river.  At  night  Cardenas  and  his  party  returned  to  the 
vessel  near  Sand  Point.  Before  morning  a  storm  arose  which 
prevented  any  work  of  exploration  on  the  following  day. 

On  the  fourth  the  party  went  north  again  in  the  launch  and 
entered  the  bay  where  Port  Lavaca  now  stands.  From  there  they 
went  to  the  inlet  now  called  Chocolate  bay,  and  explored  it  with 
the  canoe.  Cardenas  guessed  that  it  might  be  the  mouth  of  the 
Medina  river,  which  had  been  crossed  by  De  Leon  in  the  interior; 
but  he  was  careful  to  state  that  this  was  only  a  guess. 

Next  day  they  continued  up  the  west  coast  to  the  mouth  of 
Placedo  creek,  which  they  ascended  for  a  league  in  the  canoe, 
thinking  it  might  be  the  Guadalupe  river.  Eeturning  they  ex- 
amined again  the  two  logs  of  driftwood,  and  for  a  second  time 
entered  the  Garcitas  river.  Says  the  diary:  <cWe  found  the 
place  where  the  artillery  of  the  fort  was  said  to  be,  and  we  un- 
covered it  in  order  to  see  it  and  satisfy  ourselves.  We  saw  that 
it  was  of  iron.  Then  we  passed  on,  and,  following  up  the  said 
river,  we  camped  for  the  night  at  point  P."  (x  on  map  pub- 
lished.) This  point  was  some  three  or  more  miles  above  the  fort, 
and  not  far  from  the  present  residence  of  Mr.  Claude  Keeran. 
Next  day  they  continued  up  the  river  till  the  water  was  too  shal- 

25The  word  is  buxios. 

2'Diario  y  derrota  del  viage  que  se  ha  egecutada  a  la  Bahia  de  San 
Bernardo.  The  Diario  de  la  Derrota  states  that  after  leaving  the  Indian 
Tillage,  "we  continued  up  the  river  until  we  came  to  some  houses  on  a  site 
the  most  commanding  of  that  prairie,  which,  we  inferred,  from  their  form, 
were  not  Indian  houses.  We  disembarked  and,  climbing  up  the  bank,  we 
came  to  the  settlement  of  de  la  Salle,  at  point  L  [just  above  8  on  map 
published]  where  there  was  a  wall  of  a  fortification,  or  platform,  and 
about  ten  or  twelve  houses  [buxios],  besides  as  many  already  destroyed." 
The  Diario  de  la  Derrota  says:  "From  there  we  continued  to  the  pueblo 
of  the  French,  an'd  examined  the  artillery  which  was  buried  there,  which 
consists  of  eight  cannons  and  two  swivel-guns  of  cast  iron,  new  and  in 
good  condition." 


182  Southwestern  Historical  Quarterly 

low  for  the  launch,  but  evidently  they  did  not  reach  the  mouth 
of  Arenosa  creek,  for  no  mention  is  made  of  such  a  stream.  De- 
scending,, they  spent  the  night  in  the  bay  near  the  mouth  of  the 
river  of  the  French. 

At  another  point  the  diary  gives  further  data  regarding  this 
stream  and  the  French  settlement.  It  says:  "The  width  of  the 
river  is  sixty  yards  at  the  entry.  It  is  eighteen  or  twenty  palms 
deep,  but  at  places  decreases  to  eight  palms,  at  some  of  the  fords. 
Its  whole  bottom  is  of  mud;  after  three  leagues  up  it  contains 
some  groves  of  oaks,  liveoaks,  and  some  wild  grapes  and  willows. 

"As  to  the  site  [of  the  French  settlement],  it  is  on  the  highest 
point  of  the  plain.  It  overlooks  two-thirds  of  it  in  the  direction 
of  the  river,  and  one-third  is  a  level  extending  indefinitely  north- 
west. As  to  the  materials,  the  land  is  black,  rich,  and  sticky. 
The  river  is  of  fresh  water;  the  timber,  of  which  there  is  some, 
is  a  little  distant.  There  are  no  stones  even  to  supply  needs.7' 

Next  day  the  party  raised  the  drift  logs,  cut  off  some  pieces, 
and  loaded  them  on  the  launch  to  take  to  the  ship  and  to  Vera 
Cruz.  Continuing  their  exploration,  they  crossed  the  head  of 
Lavaca  bay  to  another  river,  coming  in  at  the  northeastern  angle 
on  the  bay.  Ascending  this  stream  next  day  for  some  five  or 
six  miles,  they  camped  for  the  night  (at  the  point  marked  3  on 
the  map).  Next  day  they  passed  a  village  of  Indians,  and  shortly 
afterward  the  mouth  of  the  river  coming  from  the  northwest  (4), 
which  they  recognized  as  the  one  that  De  Leon  had  called  the 
San  Marcos.  It  was  obviously  the  Lavaca.  Ascending  the  east 
fork  (the  Navidad),  which  on  his  map  Cardenas  called  Eio  del 
Espiritu  Santo,27  they  rowed  a  few  miles,  but  were  stopped  by  a 
raft  of  drift  logs.  The  river  was  described  as  being  well  tim- 
bered, which  was  not  true  of  the  river  of  the  French. 

Turning  about  they  camped  some  two  miles  above  the  junction 
on  an  elevation  (6)  described  as  a  red  bluff,  admirably  adapted 
to  fortification  and  settlement.  This  spot  was  clearly  the  place 
where  the  village  of  Red  Bluff  now^  stands. 

27In  the  De  Le6n  diary  of  the  1090  expedition  to  the  Hasinai  country, 
the  Colorado  was  called  the  San  Marcos  and  the  Brazos  was  called  the 
Espiritu  Santo.  It  was  evidently  supposed  by  Cardenas  that  the  two 
rivers  joined  here  to  form  the  Lavaca.  Below  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
mouth  of  the  Colorado  was  called  by  Cardenas  the  Trinidad,  the 
given  by  De  Leon  in  1690  to  the  middle  Trinity. 


Location  of  La  Salle's  Colony  On  Gulf  of  Mexico       183 

Next  day,  the  ninth,  they  descended  the  river,  and  explored 
the  small  bay  or  lagoon  above  the  delta  (2).  On  the  tenth  they 
explored  Cox's  bay,  next  below  (8),  and  on  the  eleventh  Keller's 
bay  (9).  From  here  they  returned  to  the  western  shore  of 
Lavaca  bay,  where  they  camped  opposite  Sand  Point  (below  T 
and  N). 

"There/'  says  the  diary,  "we  found  the  place  where  M.  de  la 
Salle  [Munsuir  de  Sales]  had  made  the  barracks  to  lodge  his  men 
and  all  the  rest  of  his  train,  in  order  thence  to  conduct  them  to 
his  settlement.  It  is  inferred,  therefore,  that  his  vessels  did  not 
go  beyond  this  point — there  being  insufficient  water — whence  he 
conducted  all  that  he  had  in  launches  and  canoes." 

On  the  twelfth  the  party  began  the  exploration  of  the  main 
bay,  to  the  east.  Coursing  along  the  north  shore,  they  passed 
the  mouth  of  Carancahua  bay  (11)  and  camped  some  distance 
east  of  it  under  the  shelter  of  a  red  cliff  and  a  gunshot  from  a 
spring  of  fresh  water.  This  place,  which  was  apparently  near 
Well  Point,  can  perhaps  be  identified  by  residents  of  the  locality. 
Next  day  they  continued  eastward  to  Trespalacios  bay,  returned, 
rounded  Half-moon  Point  and  proceeded  east. 

On  the  fifteenth  they  entered  a  small  inlet,  and  then  continued 
east  to  a  lagoon  (15,  16)  at  the  mouth  of  a  large  river  which 
formed  a  delta.  This  stream  was  clearly  the  Colorado.  Car- 
denas called  it  the  Trinidad,  no  doubt  thinking  it  was  the  stream 
bearing  that  name  which  De  Leon  had  crossed  in  the  interior. 
On  the  sixteenth  they  ascended  the  eastern  mouth  of  the  river 
some  ten  or  fifteen  miles  to  a  point  (18)  near  Beadle,  and  re- 
turned by  the  westernmost  channel  till  stopped  by  a  raft  of  drift 
logs,  whence  they  turned  back,  descending  by  another  channel. 
Continuing  eastward  up  Matagorda  bay  for  a  short  distance  on 
the  seventeenth,  they  then  turned  back,  coasting  Matagorda  penin- 
sula, looking  for  an  outlet  to  the  gulf,  and  crossed  to  the  west 
side  of  the  bay,  where  they  camped  near  Point  Connor  (25). 

With  this  camp  as  a  base,  several  days  were  spent  in  explor- 
ing and  sounding  the  channel.  While  here  a  soldier  died  and  his 
body  was  thrown  into  the  bay.  Finally,  on  the  twenty-ninth, 
they  crossed  the  bar  into  the  gulf,  and  set  sail  for  Vera  Cruz, 
which  they  reached  on  the  ninth  of  December,  after  an  absence 
of  fifty-nine  days. 


184  Southwestern  Historical  Quarterly 

Anyone  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  compare  a  modern  map 
with  that  made  by  Cardenas  will  be  struck  by  the  accuracy  of 
the  latter,  and  will  be  filled  with  admiration  for  the  engineer's 
skill.  His  merit  was  recognized  by  the  officials  in  Mexico,  and 
on  his  return  to  Vera  Cruz  he  received  the  special  thanks  of  the 
viceroy  for  his  notable  work. 

The  bearing  of  the  Cardenas  report  and  map  upon  the  loca- 
tion of  La  Salle's  colony  is  obvious.  They  simply  settle  the  mat- 
ter once  for  all  and  without  argument.  The  settlement  was  on 
the  Garcitas  river  and  not  on  the  Lavaca,  as  has  been  supposed. 
This  I  realized  as  soon  as  I  studied  the  map,  as  must  everyone 
conversant  with  the  conditions  of  the  problem.  But  I  had  the 
curiosity  to  see  the  locality,  to  test  more  minutely  the  work  of 
Cardenas,  and,  although  the  proof  in  no  way  depended  upon  this 
confirmation,  to  see  if  perchance  the  site  of  the  colony  was  still 
marked  by  archeological  remains  and  was  known  to  local  tra- 
dition.28 

Accordingly,  on  July  3,  1914,  I  left  Austin  for  the  Garcitas 
river.  Going  next  day  from  San  Antonio  by  the  Southern  Pa- 
cific railroad,  and  passing  on  the  way  gatherings  of  people  par- 
ticipating in  barbecues  and  other  holiday  activities,  about  1  p.  m. 
I  stopped  at  Placedo  station,  having  before  me  the  prospect  of 
taking  the  midnight  train  to  Ben  West,  some  fifteen  miles  east 
on  the  Brownsville  road,  and  on  the  Garcitas  river,  there  to  wait 
for  daylight  and  the  assistance  of  the  local  inhabitants.  But  a 
little  inquiry  at  Placedo  made  it  clear  to  me  that  the  place  which 
I  was  seeking  was  on  Keeran  ranch,  and  that  I  must  see  Mr. 
Claude  Keeran,  owner  of  the  ranch  and  a  lifelong  resident  of 
the  place.  I  made  bold,  therefore,  to  call  him  up  by  telephone, 
introduce  myself,  and  tell  him  of  my  errand.  He  was  interested 
at  once,  and  generously  volunteered  to  co-operate.  At  his  sug- 
gestion I  rode  out  seven  miles  that  night  in  a  wagon  with  Mr. 
Vickers,  who  was  boring  a  well  on  the  Keeran  ranch,  spending 
the  night  in  the  camp  as  Mr.  Vickers'  guest.  Next  morning  as 
we  were  eating  breakfast,  Mr.  Keeran,  accompanied  by  his  fore- 
man, Mr.  Charles  Webb,  came  in  his  automobile,  and  together 

"Especially   in  view  of  the  opinion  expressed  by  General  J.   S.   Clark, 
post,  179. 


Location  of  La  Salle's  Colony  On  Gulf  of  Mexico       185 

we  spent  the  forenoon  going  over  Cardenas'  ground,  with  copies 
of  his  map  and  the  accompanying  report  in  hand. 

Conversation  at  Placedo  with  Mr.  J.  S.  Webb,  who  for  years 
had  ridden  the  Keeran  ranch,  had  elicited  the  fact  that  on  a 
bank  overlooking  the  Garcitas  river  were  ruins  known  in  the 
neighborhood  tradition  as  "The  Old  Mission/'  but  otherwise  un- 
explained. Mr.  Keeran  confirmed  this  report,  took  me  to  the 
spot,  and  informed  me  that,  like  most  "old  sites"  in  the  South- 
west, it  had  long  been  an  object  of  attention  to  treasure  seekers. 
It  is  exactly  where  Cardenas'  map  shows  La  Salle's  settlement, 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  Garcitas  river,  about  five  miles  above  its 
mouth,  and  on  the  highest  point  of  the  cliff-like  bank  of  that 
stream.  The  place  is  between  Maiden  Mott  and  Letts's  Mott, 
but  considerably  nearer  the  former  than  the  latter.  The  spot  is 
the  vantage  point  of  all  the  country  round.  To  the  south,  west, 
and  northwest,  stretch  indefinitely  the  great  level  prairies,  now 
sprinkled  with  a  recent  growth  of  mesquite,  but  in  La  Salle's 
day  an  open  prairie  dotted  with  buffalo  herds.  In  front  lies  a 
beautiful  little  valley  through  which  winds  the  Garcitas  river,  a 
good  sized  stream,  from  a  hundred  to  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
in  width,  and  still  navigable  with  a  launch  for  a  number  of  miles 
above  its  mouth.29  On  the  other  side  the  valley  is  hemmed  in 
by  a  range  of  low  hills  which,  off  to  the  northwest,  fade  away 
into  the  great  plain  lying  east  of  Victoria.  The  choice  by  La 
Salle  of  the  spot  for  his  colony  is  no  cause  for  surprise.  A  care- 
ful comparison  of  the  topography  of  the  valley  with  Cardenas' 
map  and  description  showed  that  he  had  delineated  correctly 
every  important  bend  in  the  stream,  and  had  even  placed  on  his 
map  west  of  the  river  and  below  the  French  fort  the  small  lagoon 
now  known  as  Red  Fish  lake. 

The  archeological  remains  of  the  settlement,  so  far  as  we  ascer- 
tained, are  not  extensive,  but  they  are  palpable  and  of  certain 
character.  Before  we  went  to  the  site  Mr.  Keeran  stated  that 
years  ago  there  were  distinct  remains  of  an  ancient  wall,  but 
feared  they  had  entirely  disappeared.  But  he  was  mistaken  in 
this,  for  we  easily  found  the  wall,  then  just  visible  above  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  and  without  any  digging  were  able  to 

J9Mr.  Keeran  runs  a  launch  on  the  river,  his  landing  being  a  mile  or 
more  above  the  site  of  the  fort. 


186  Southwestern  Historical  Quarterly 

trace  it  for  many  feet.  The  wall  is  made  of  large,  red,  adobe- 
like  blocks,  apparently  of  baked  red  clay.  Subsequently,  Mr. 
Keeran  has  found  it  to  be  two  and  a  half  feet  thick  and  to  in- 
close an  area  ninety  feet  square.30  From  the  surface  of  the 
ground  I  gathered  a  handful  of  small  fragments  of  antique  blue 
and  white  porcelain.  The  story  of  the  finding  of  the  "vases," 
which  made  its  way  into  the  daily  press,  is  a  pure  fiction  of  the 
reporter,  for  which  I  am  in  no  way  responsible.  Mr.  Keeran 
told  me,  with  full  circumstantial  details,  of  the  unearthing  on 
the  spot,  some  thirty  years  ago,  of  half  of  an  immense  copper 
kettle,  nearly  a  yard  in  diameter.  It  was  exhumed  at  dead  of 
night  by  a  party  of  treasure  hunters,  who  were  working  under 
the  direction  of  a  fortune  teller  and  were  frightened  away  by 
uncanny  sounds.  Mr.  Keeran  states  that  the  kettle  remained 
neglected  on  the  site  for  several  years  and  then  disappeared. 

It  is  interesting  now  to  note  that  heretofore  several  students 
have  independently  concluded  that  the  La  Salle  colony  was  on 
the  Garcitas  and  not  on  the  Lavaca,  but  have  lacked  sufficient 
data  to  give  acceptance  to  their  findings.  Twenty  or  more  years 
ago  General  J.  S.  Clark,  on  the  basis  of  the  archeological  and 
topographical  data,  expressed  the  belief  that  the  site  was  on  an 
elevation  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Garcitas,  about  five  miles  above 
its  mouth,  where  he  found  the  remains  of  an  ancient  settlement. 
The  spot  was  doubtless  the  same  as  that  which  Mr.  Keeran  and 
I  examined.  Clark's  opinion  was  mentioned  by  Justin  Winsor, 
but  dismissed  as  inconclusive.31  About  seven  years  ago  C.  C. 
Small,  one  of  my  students  in  the  University  of  Texas,  on  the 
basis  of  Joutel's  journal  and  such.  Spanish  documents  as  were 
then  available,  reached  a  similar  conclusion,  though  he  attempted 

30Letter  from  Mr.  C.  A.  Keeran,  August  26,  1914.  He  writes  me  that  in 
addition  he  foun'd  a  carving  fork,  crockery,  pottery,  a  bullet,  spikes,  and 
a  coal  pit. 

81"General  J.  S.  Clark,  a  recent  investigator  of  the  topographical  fea- 
tures of  the  region,  is  confident  that  the  camp  first  occupied  was  on 
Mission  Bay,  near  the  Espiritu  Santo  Bay,  and  that  the  Fort  St.  Louis 
was  on  the  Garcitas  River  five  miles  above  its  junction  with  Lavaca  Bay, 
while  the  adjacent  river  of  that  name  has  usually  been'  considered  the  site 
of  the  fort.  General  Clark  represents  that  the  ground  of  his  supposed  site 
still  bore,  at  a  recent  day,  remains  of  the  fort,  and  was  marked  by  other 
relics.  To  most  inquirers  the  evidence  has  been  sufficient  that  the  vicinity 
of  Matagorda  Bay — and  Espiritu  Santo  is  not  far  off — was  the  scene  of 
these  fearful  experiences."  Winsor,  C  artier  to  Frontenac,  317. 


Location  of  La  Salle's  Colony  On  Gulf  of  Mexico       187 

no  topographical  or  archeological  confirmation.  Subsequently 
both  his  and  General  Clark's  conclusions  were  rejected  by  another 
student  of  mine  in  the  University  of  Texas.32  Finally,  Miss  Flor- 
ence B.  Stanton,  one  of  my  students  in  the  University  of  Cali- 
fornia, in  the  light  of  the  new  data,  independently  reached  the 
conclusion  to  which  I  had  already  come,  both  with  regard  to 
La  Salle's  death-place  and  to  the  site  of  his  colony.33 

Now  that  we  are  on  certain  ground,  we  find  plenty  of  confirm- 
atory evidence.  The  Sigiienza  map  of  De  Leon's  expedition  of 
1689,34  which  has  long  been  known  and  has  been  published,  gives 
a  somewhat  crude  delineation  of  Lavaca  bay  in  general,  but  shows 
with  reasonable  correctness  the  western  shore  and  its  inlets,  which 
De  Leon  visited,  and  places  the  French  fort  on  a  stream  which 
corresponds  clearly  with  Garcitas  river.  At  the  same  time  that 
I  secured  the  Cardenas  map,  I  for  the  first  time  obtained  a  copy 
of  the  official  map  of  De  Leon's  expedition  of  1690.35  This  con- 
tains a  small  outline  map  of  Matagorda  bay  which  is  quite  as  accu- 
rate in  general  as  the  Cardenas  map,  and  shows  the  Garcitas  and 
Lavaca  rivers  coming  in  at  the  head  of  Lavaca  bay.  On  the  Gar- 
citas, just  where  Cardenas  puts  it,  is  shown  the  "Pueblo  de  los 
Franceses."  Manifestly  this  map  contains  data  secured  by  the 
Llanos  expedition. 

One  of  the  tests  of  a  scientific  hypothesis  is  whether  it  is  con- 
tradicted by  or  harmonizes  with  individual  phenomena.  As  might 
be  expected,  the  substitution  of  truth  for  error  on  this  funda- 
mental point  of  the  location  of  La  Salle's  fort  dispels  several  other 
difficulties  which  have  arisen  regarding  early  expeditions  in  Texas. 

3-Eleanor  Claire  Buckley,  "The  Aguayo  Expedition  Into  Texas  and1 
Louisiana,  1719-1722,"  in  the  Texas  State  Historical  Association  Quarterly, 
XV,  59-60. 

33"La  Salle's  Colony  in  Texas."     Manuscript  thesis. 

"Camino  que  el  ano  de  1689  hizo  el  Governador  Alonso  de  Le6n  desde 
Cuahuila  hasta  hallar  cerca  del  Lago  de  Sn  Bernardo  el  lugar  donde 
havian'  poblado  los  Franceses.  Sigiienza  1689.  Published  by  Elizabeth 
Howard  West  in  the  Texas  State  Historical  Association  Quarterly,  VIII, 
facing  p.  199. 

83Viage  que  el  ano  de  1690  hizo  el  Governador  Alonso  de  Le6n  desde 
Cuahuila  hasta  la  CAROLINA,  Provincia  habitada  de  Texas  y  otras 
naciones  al  Nordeste  de  la  Nueva  Espafia.  Manuscript  in  archivo  general 
de  Indias,  estante  61,  cajon  6,  legajo  88.  There  are  indications  that  this 
map,  like  that  of  the  1689  expedition;  may  have  been  executed  by  Sigiienza, 


188  Southwestern  Historical  Quarterly 

The  San  Marcos  river  described  by  De  Leon  as  from  three  to 
six  leagues  east  of  "The  Eiver  of  the  French/'  has  been  taken 
by  students  to  be  the  Colorado,  a  stream  which  in  fact  is  a  good 
fifty  miles  away.36  The  San  Marcos  referred  to  was  obviously 
the  Lavaca,  as  shown  on  Cardenas'  map.  Starting  with  the 
Lavaca  as  the  site  of  the  French  fort,  Joutel's  report  of  La  Salle's 
last  expedition  to  the  eastward  raises  difficulties  regarding  the 
streams  at  every  part  of  his  journey.  But  with  a  correct  start 
his  itinerary  is  easy  to  follow.  Starting  too  far  east,  students 
have  come  out  too  far  east  in  locating  the  place  where  La  Salle 
was  murdered,  placing  it  on  the  Neches  or  the  Trinity,  instead 
of  on  the  Brazos. 

One  point  further  remains  to  be  dealt  with,  lest  misunderstand- 
ings creep  in.  For  two  or  three  years  after  the  destruction  of 
La  Salle's  colony  its  site  was  frequently  visited  and  was  tem- 
porarily occupied  by  the  Spaniards,  as  a  base  of  operations  in 
the  interior  of  Texas.  Later  on,  in  1722,  it  became  the  site  of 
what  was  intended  to  be  a  permanent  Spanish  settlement.  A  f'ort 
was  built  by  Aguayo  square  on  the  site  of  the  one  which  had 
been  erected  by  La  Salle.  We  are  sure  of  this,  because  in  dig- 
ging the  trenches  Aguayo's  men  unearthed  numerous  remains  of 
the  French  establishment.37  The  Spanish  fort  was  given  the 
name  of  Nuestra  Senora  de  Loreto.  Across  the  river  was  estab- 
lished the  mission  of  Espiritu  Santo.  Four  years  later  the  fort 
and  mission  were  moved  northwest  to  Mission  Valley,  near  the 
present  Victoria,  and  in  1749  were  transferred  to  the  San  Antonio 
river,  to  become  the  nucleus  of  the  present  city  of  Goliad.  Thus, 

36Bancroft,  History  of  the  North  Mexican  States,  I,  400. 

37"On  the  sixth  of  April  his  lordship  began  to  draw  the  lines  for  the 
erection  of  the  presidio,  as  the  king  our  lord  ( God  preserve  him ) ,  had 
•ordered,  in  the  place  where  the  French,  under  command  of  M.  de  la  Salle 
[Monseur  la  Sala],  had  it  constructed  from  the  year  of  'eighty-four  until 
that  of  'ninety,  when  the  Iridians  destroyed  them,  there  remaining  alive  in 
their  power  three  Frenchmen  and  a  girl.  They  buried  the  artillery  (which 
later  the  Spaniards  secured,  and  took  to  Vera  Cruz),  the  excavation,  which 
is  within  the  place  where  the  presidio  has  been  placed,  being  visible  today, 
as  is  also  that  in  which  they  burned  the  powder;  and  on  opening  the 
trenches  for  the  fortification  there  were  found  nails,  pieces  of  musket- 
locks,  and  fragments  of  other  things  which  the  French  use."  Juan  Antonio 
de  la  Pena,  Derrotero  de  la  expedicion  en  la  provincia  de  los  Texas  (Mexico, 
1722 ),f.  27. 


Location  of  La  Salle's  Colony  On  Gulf  of  Mexico       189 

the  relics  on  the  banks  of  the  Garcitas  mark  the  site  of  both 
La  Salle's  colony  and  the  Spanish  presidio  of  Loreto.  The  walls 
still  visible  are  probably  the  remains  of  the  Spanish  rather  than 
the  French  fortification. 

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